MUSIC; An Ode to Skronk

By BRIAN WISE

Published: December 4, 2005

TIMES are tough for experimental music in New York. Club owners say the economics of presenting noncommercial music are not favorable in real estate-crazed Manhattan. But a trip to Princeton University tells a different story. A concert series called Free-Form Mash-Up harks back to the freewheeling artist lofts and performance spaces of Lower Manhattan in the 1970's and 1980's.

The series, held at the Terrace Club here twice a month, has been giving experimental musicians a place to improvise and play since 2003. Named for both a D.J. term for mixing two songs together and a spontaneous radio format, Free-Form Mash-Up brings together established and emerging musicians who work on the fringes of jazz, contemporary classical and computer-based music. Admission to the Tuesday-night concerts is free; the next one is set for Dec. 13 at 9 p.m.

Scott Smallwood, the series' director and a sound artist, says the concert series fills a crucial niche in New Jersey. ''What we're trying to do with the series is present a forum for artists with unusual points of view,'' he said. ''There isn't much experimental music in this part of New Jersey. In a way it's very ripe for getting out there.''

Free-Form Mash-Up was founded when Newton Armstrong, a doctoral student in composition at Princeton, began organizing concerts with both student composer-performers and professional musicians on tour. Although the series was not officially sponsored by Princeton, over time it began receiving modest support. Today, the university's music department contributes a small amount to pay musicians.

Last fall, Mr. Smallwood, who is also a doctoral student in composition at Princeton, took over programming from Mr. Armstrong. The season opener, on Sept. 20, began with ''Colton Swarm,'' written by Mr. Smallwood for laptop computer and based on recordings of a cluster of chords played on a plastic harmonium that he bought at a thrift store. Also on the program was a spiky improvisation for dry ice and guzheng (a plucked Chinese table harp) performed by Catherine Pancake and Clare Cooper.

Past guests have included artists like the experimental keyboardist Anthony Coleman, performing with the kitsch cabaret artist Meow-Meow; the free-jazz veteran Mark Dresser improvising works for contrabass; Trockeneis, an experimental music quintet from Baltimore; and Evol, a computer music duo from Barcelona specializing in algorithmic composition.

Steve Mackey, a composition professor at Princeton who also plays electric guitar, said that the series was more offbeat than what is typically found at school-sponsored concerts. ''Let's face it, free improvisation is not a mainstream thing,'' he said.

For more information: ww.ffmup.org.

Photo: Free-Form Mash-Up at Princeton. (Photo by Laura Pedrick for The New York Times)